TORY MPs yesterday urged David Cameron to use a major speech on Monday to reaffirm his commitment to slash immigration and halt “welfare tourism” to Britain.

Vince Cable has said plans to cap immigration at under 100,000 are dishonest

The Prime Minister is expected to hit back after his Lib Dem Cabinet colleague Vince Cable said plans to cap immigration at under 100,000 were “dishonest” and could put skilled overseas workers off contributing to the UK.

But Tory campaigners want the PM to allay fears that Britain’s generous benefits and healthcare will make it a magnet for tens of thousands of Romanians and Bulgarians who will be free to come here after visa restrictions are relaxed on December 31.

MP Stewart Jackson said public unrest over immigration was “almost wholly the reason we came third in the Eastleigh by-election”.

He urged the PM to use Monday’s speech to be “honest and upfront”.

He added: “He needs to make the point that people will only be welcome if they make a positive financial contribution and, if they’re welfare tourists, they won’t be.”

Migrants should not see UK as an easy option, say Tories

He needs to make the point that people will only be welcome if they make a positive financial contribution and, if they’re welfare tourists, they won’t be

MP Stewart Jackson

Fellow Tory MP Priti Patel agreed that a tough speech was necessary to “win back public confidence”. She called for rules on how long migrants work and pay taxes before they can claim benefits.

And she said the Coalition needed to demonstrate an ability to “remove people who have overstayed their welcome” while tackling judges and human rights lawyers who are “holding us back from repatriating people who shouldn’t be here because they’re a threat”.

Conservative Philip Hollobone also wants a challenge to the EU Freedom of Movement directive that threatens a tide of unskilled workers from Romania and Bulgaria.

This week it emerged that even Moldovans could arrive here by using ancestral rights to get Romanian passports.